Locals called the Overland Limited train the “divorcée special.” It pulled into the little yellow train station in Reno, Nevada, on a regular basis to deposit the latest arrivals to the city that was once dubbed “the divorce capital of the world.” At the station, the divorce seekers, most of whom were women from as far away as the East Coast, were usually met by a driver or their local divorce lawyer.

But it was quite possible that they would be met by a rugged man in jeans and a cowboy hat — a dude wrangler from a local “divorce ranch.” That’s right, a real-life cowboy. And, for many new arrivals, that was just the beginning of the adventure. Starting in the 1930s, Reno and its divorce ranches represented not just a place where you could await the end of your marriage, but also an opportunity to remake your life.